


Christmas Countdown

by brightlikeloulou



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Zombie Apocalypse, Baby Rovia, Beaches, Bookstores, Camping, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dancing in the Rain, Dogs, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Honeymoon, Illnesses, Implied/Referenced Sex, Insecurity, Late Night Conversations, Love, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Massage, Parenthood, Showers, Sweet tooth!Daryl, Swimming, Swimming Pools, Theatre, Weddings, commitment issues, mentions of surrogacy, sleepy!daryl, sleepy!paul
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-01 17:39:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 19,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16769791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brightlikeloulou/pseuds/brightlikeloulou
Summary: Paul and Daryl being happy, in love, and domestic.-----* A Christmas countdown that is not at all Christmassy, (seriously, no Christmas in the fic, just happy domestic fluff)* All chapters are set in the same universe but technically can be read as just one-shots.* New chapter every day up until December 25th, (Australian time, dates might be a little off for other places)





	1. The House

**Author's Note:**

> Paul and Daryl move into their first house together.

Paul pulled his long chestnut hair up into a bun as he stepped out of the apartment's bathroom and out into the main living area. The place looked so much larger now that it was completely bare of furniture.

They had packed everything up over the previous days, and the movers had arrived at eight that morning to collect boxes and certain items of furniture that they had decided to keep. Everything was being carted to the new house, their dream house.

Paul looked around the main area and frowned when he found no sign of his boyfriend. He finished tying his hair and then made his way to the bedroom, he pushed open the slightly ajar door and frowned, even more, when he found Daryl sat down on the floor and his back against the far wall.

"Daryl?" Paul said softly as walked over to him, sitting right down in front of him when he reached him.

Daryl met his eyes and smiled softly at him, folding his arms on top of his pulled up knees. "Hey," He greeted him quietly.

Paul adjusted his position to get a little more comfortable, and then reached out and placed his hand on top of Daryl's forearm and squeezed it. "Are you okay, sweetheart? You're not regretting getting the house are you?" Paul asked him, voice laced with concern and he reached out with his other hand and pushed some bangs back from Daryl's face.

Daryl quickly shook his head as he leaned into Paul's hand and kissed his wrist. "I'm okay, I promise, and of course I ain't regretting gettin' the house, can't wait to be living out there. It's just... we've lived here for four years, got lotta memories here." He told Paul, smiling at him sadly.

Paul smiled back and scooted closer, and the two of them fell into a hug, Daryl's head on Paul's shoulder. "There is a lot of memories here, but we won't forget them just cause we're moving away," Paul said to him as he stroked his hair and pressed his lips against the man's head.

"I know that," Daryl mumbled, the material of Paul's shirt slightly blocking his voice. "Still hard though,"

Paul sighed and begun scratching his fingers along Daryl's scalp, knowing how much the other man loved it. "I know, I'm gonna miss this place too, but think about how many new, amazing memories we'll make at the house. Be excited about that, instead of sad about this,"

"Sounds, cheesy, but you always say the right thing, you know that?"

Paul chuckled and encouraged Daryl to lift his head, kissing him once he had. "Come on, sweetheart, let's get to the house, we've got a lot of unpacking to do," He said as he stood up, holding out his hand and pulling Daryl up once he had taken it.

* * *

It was around nine at night when the two of them finally called it a night.

They had arrived at the house at just after nine, the movers already parked in the driveway and waiting for their instructions.

All the furniture they had ordered over the past month had arrived the day previous, and the two of them had already roughly put things where they needed to be, but they hadn't taken anything out of boxes or constructed the things that needed to be.

With the movers' help, they moved the things they had decided to keep into the house, that took over an hour, and Paul was relieved to see them go. One of the mover's, a slightly older man, though he never said anything, quite clearly had a distaste for Paul and Daryl's relationship, looking like he was going to hurl when Daryl had kissed Paul after they had carried their old desk in.

Paul and Daryl made their way back inside once they had left and got to work on constructing one of the many new bookshelves they had purchased, their shared collection tucked away in boxes and ready for new homes. They got through one and a half bookshelves before there was a knock at the door and Maggie, Glenn, Rick, Michonne, Aaron and Eric, were letting themselves inside. The lot of them had insisted on coming over to help get them set up.

Together, they managed to have everything constructed by three in the afternoon, and the house mostly set up, there were just a few things left in boxes that Daryl and Paul were fine to put away themselves. Before everyone left, they all sat around the brand new dining table and had a drink, happily chatting.

Once they left, Paul and Daryl got to the finer details of unpacking. Paul started sorting books back into their places because it really bothered Paul if his books weren't in perfect order (sometimes it bugs the shit out of Daryl, but sometimes he finds it endearing). While Paul did that, Daryl took to making the beds, unpacking clothes into their large walk-in wardrobe, and putting cutlery and dishes away in the kitchen. He only bothered to sort their ensuite bathroom before he collapsed onto the couch in exhaustion.

Paul looked over at him from where he sat on the floor, working on sorting books into one of three bookshelves in their living room. "Tired?" He asked as he slid a book into its place and grabbed another, a fond smile played at his lips as watched Daryl stretch out on the couch over his shoulder.

Daryl hummed and blinked lazily at him, pillowing his head on a beautiful bicep. "Yeah, been a long day,"

"A long day, but a good day," Paul offered, grinning over at his boyfriend. He's still buzzing with happiness that they've now officially moved into the house.

"Yeah, a good day." Daryl agreed, lips curling. A groan escaped his lips as he sat back up, he pushed some hair back from his face, and his ocean blues settled on Paul again. "Come on, finish that tomorrow. Let's go have a beer on the porch, shower and then get some sleep,"

Paul sighed, he wanted to finish organising his books, but even he couldn't deny the exhaustion that was settling in his bones. "Okay," He eventually said and allowed Daryl to pull him up (or try to, Paul was a heavy guy). Once he was up on his feet, he wrapped his arms up around Daryl's shoulders and placed his lips on his. They kissed softly, lovingly, and passionately all at the same time for several moments before the gradually pulled apart.

Daryl smiled at him, kissed his cheek and then took his hand and lead him towards the kitchen.

* * *

Once they had their beers, they settled onto the back porch on the porch swing that came with the house. They sat pressed together and Paul with his arm around Daryl's shoulder, the man shifted down on the seat slightly that he could rest his head partly on Paul's chest.

They're looking out at their spacious backyard, there isn't much in it than a few garden beds that Paul was dying to get his hands on and a clothesline. Beyond the backyard, and around the rest of the house, they have a total of ten acres. Just a few meters beyond their property line begins the tree line of the public woods that the two of them can't wait to spend time in.

The house is perfect. They had been searching for a house together for almost six months but couldn't find one quite right and were on the verge of just buying land and building what they wanted themselves, despite the stress they knew it would cause. It was like the world decided to be nice for once, Paul was on his Facebook late at night as he couldn't sleep, and came across an advertisement for the house that had only just been put on sale a day before. After looking at the pictures, Paul immediately sent an email that he was interested. In the morning, he woke up late and checked his phone as Daryl was cooking breakfast, and he had a reply to an email inquiring about a time for them to come and look at the house. As they ate breakfast, Paul showed Daryl the photos, and he seemed to love it just as much as Paul.

The house was out of town, only twenty minutes out which was great because they didn't want to be far from their jobs or friends. It had property and was close to the woods, giving them the freedom and privacy they both craved from the small apartment. The garage had enough room for both of their cars and Daryl's bike and storage for all the man's tools. The house's first floor had a mostly open plan, the living area, kitchen and dining area, all together in one large room. The laundry, a bathroom and one of the spare bedrooms were also on that floor. The second floor of the house, had their ensuite bedroom and another spare, along with a home office, which would be extremely useful as Paul runs his own martial arts dojo, and Daryl is the manager of the best mechanic's in town.

"I already love it so much here," Paul sighed, stroking his long fingers along Daryl's arm.

Daryl hummed, "Me too, darlin'," He replied after swallowing a mouthful of his beer.

Paul moved slightly so he could properly look at Daryl, "And I love you too," He told the other man with a broad and happy grin, admiring how gorgeous Daryl looked in the yellow glow of the porchlight.

Daryl smirked and slid his hands under Paul's shirt and sought warmth from his skin. "Well after five years, I kinda figured," He joked.

Paul rolled his eyes and cupped Daryl's cheek and leaned down to kiss him. "Asshole," He mumbled before he pressed their lips together.

Daryl chuckled against his lips, "Love you," He said once he had pulled back for just a moment, and then he kissed him again.


	2. Rain and Music

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl and Paul share a romantic moment in the rain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day #2 of the countdown.

"Fuck, where'd this weather come from," Paul sighed as they drove, the sound of the rain falling again the road and the roof of the car audible over the music Paul had playing through the speakers from his phone.

"Meant to be like it until the weekend," Daryl told him, and he reached over and took Paul's hand for a brief moment to kiss it before he let him place it back on the wheel.

Paul smiled over at him and wished that he wasn't driving so he could pull the sleepy looking man into a kiss. He was too damn adorable, his hair messy and his eyes heavy as he rested his head against the window.

"At least the weekend isn't like it, we wanna go out hunting don't we?" Paul said to him.

Daryl hummed, "We'll see, we don't wanna get caught out there if it rains or storms."

"A little rain won't hurt us," Paul replied, he had been excited about hunting. In the five years he and Daryl had been together, they had only gone hunting a few times, and Paul loved to watch the other man work whenever he did.

"That is true," Daryl mumbled and attempted to stretch as much as he could in the confined space of Paul's car. "What time do you finish Friday? We could go out to dinner,"

"Um, five I think. Where do you plan on seducing me?" Paul asked, and spared a glance at his gorgeous boyfriend, and playful smirk twitched at his lips.

Daryl huffed a laugh and Paul thought that he maybe saw the man roll his eyes. "Found a new Chinese place a couple of days ago, might be nice to try it, especially since our usual place is closing down in a month,"

"Hmm, I'm still bummed about that,"

"Yesterday, you called the coffee table a 'dumb motherfucking worthless asshole' when you stubbed your toe on it, but you say you're 'bummed' when your favorite restaurant is closing down,"

"I'm sensing some judgment, Daryl,"

They both laughed and then spent the rest of the road back to their home in silence.

The rain was still heavy when they pulled into their garage, and Paul watched Daryl step out of the car with a grunt when his knee popped.

One of Paul's favorite songs started to play from where his phone was still connected to car's speakers. He smirked as the gentle strum of a guitar begun to fill his ears, and he reached over to turn the volume up a significant amount before he stepped out of the car, leaving the door open.

Once he was out, he was greeted by Daryl looking at him with a confused expression. "What're you doin'?" He grunted, his brows pulled together.

Paul smiled wide and stepped over to him. He grabbed both of his hands when he reached him and leaned up to kiss him briefly, before he begun walking backward, pulling Daryl along with him.

"Five years we have been together, and we are yet to do the most ridiculously cheesy but romantic thing in the world," Paul said, and Daryl slowly had begun to smile back at him.

Paul was finally out from under the cover of the garage, and he felt the droplets of rain land on him. He squeezed Daryl's hands and pulled him out to join him.

"Seriously, Paul?" Daryl grunted as he stepped into the rain too.

Paul chuckled and finally pulled Daryl close. "Yes, my love, we're gonna kiss and dance in the rain," He confirmed, and he stepped as close as he possibly could to the other man.

Daryl huffed a laugh and rolled his eyes, but there was a fondness to it. "This one of those memories you were talkin' 'bout?" Daryl asked as Paul's hands landed on his cheeks.

Paul smiled wide and leaned forward to peck both of his cheeks, cheeks that had gotten wet with the heavy rain. "Damn right it is," Paul mumbled, not at all minding that the rain was wetting his hair, making it matted in placed and the some of it begun to stick to his face.

"You're an idiot."

There was no real heat or insult in the words, and Paul just smirked, he ran his hands further across Daryl's face and threaded his fingers into the man's dark wet hair. He tugged the strands playfully as they both leaned into each other and their lips pressed together. The sound of the heavy rain hitting the ground around and the roof of the house was loud, but the music coming from the car was still audible.

Paul melted when Daryl's arms wrapped tight around his back, and he pulled his lips from his and tucked his face into Paul's neck to press wet but warm kisses against him. God, I love this beautiful man so much.

"Wanna forget about dancing and go upstairs?" Daryl murmured into Paul's neck.

Paul laughed and playfully swatted the man's ass and took a step back from him, but allowed the man to keep his arms around him. "By the time we finish dancing, we'll be wet, and that means we can take a shower together," Paul told him and watched Daryl become excited just at the mention of it.

"Alright, deal," Daryl mumbled with a soft smile and pulled Paul close again.

"Now keep it in your pants and dance with me,"

Daryl huffed a laugh against Paul's cheek but allowed Paul to slowly begin swaying him to the music that mixed with the falling rain around them.

They each had one arm around each other's waist, and their others were clasped together and stretched out. Their arms moved up and down slightly as the two of them swayed and turned slowly in a circle.

Paul unwrapped his arm from Daryl and took a step back, keeping a hold of the man's hand, he spun his boyfriend in a circle, and they both laughed when he almost tripped over his own feet. They then swapped, and Daryl spun Paul around, who did it so much more gracefully than Daryl.

They danced for another minute or so until the song finished, the two of them gradually coming to a stop as the next song started. They stopped with their chests pressed together, wet clothes against wet clothes, and the two of them kissed for a long time.

Daryl eventually pulled apart, and while keeping Paul's hand tight in his, walked back under the safety of the garage.

After putting the door down and turning off the music and the car, they laughed and playfully groped each other the entire way through the house to their ensuite bathroom. 


	3. Showering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl and Paul take a shower together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 3!

Paul closed the door behind him once he entered the house through the back door. His shoes had mud up the sides, and the tank top he had just gone for his run through the woods in was stuck to his back with sweat.

He leaned down to pull his shoes off and placed them neatly by the door once he had, unlike Daryl who would just leave them scattered over wherever he had taken them off.

"Daryl!" He called, his brow furrowed at the sight of not seeing the man in the main area of their house.

"In the garage!" Daryl yelled back in reply.

Paul made his way around furniture to the wooden door that lead to the garage, it was slightly ajar, and he pushed it open.

"What're you up to, love?" Paul asked as he spotted Daryl by one of his workbenches.

"Just cleaning up, did some work on the bike," Daryl answered and finished putting a couple of tools away before he turned and approached him. "You stink," Daryl said once he had gotten close to him.

Paul smirked slightly and wound a hand into the other man's hair. "Fuck you," He mumbled fondly and then pulled the man into a kiss. "I'm going to shower," He said once he pulled away and he began to make his way back to the door. "You can join me, but I'm exhausted, so don't expect sex!" He called over his shoulder as he stepped back into the house, and he could hear Daryl's soft laugh and then the sound of his footsteps as he followed him.

When they reached their ensuite bathroom, Paul immediately turned the shower on so it could heat up while the two of them got undressed. Once the spray started, Paul turned around to face his boyfriend again who was undoing the buckle on his belt.

"C'mere," Paul murmured and reached for the man, Daryl smiled at him and dropped his head down to nose at Paul's temple as Paul undid the buttons on his shirt. Paul pushed the shirt to the floor, and then run his hands over Daryl's ridiculously broad shoulders and then down his arms, squeezing the muscle tightly.

Daryl had managed to get his belt undone before Paul interrupted him, and Paul pushed the jeans and boxers down the man's thick thighs that he adored so much. While Paul had meant what he said about being too tired to have sex, he could still appreciate the perfection of Daryl's body.

Daryl nudged him away after a moment, and Paul allowed him to push down his running shorts and boxers. He smiled at the squeeze his boyfriend gave to his hips before he reached for Paul's tank.

"This is drenched," Daryl grunted with a smirk as he pulled the tank over Paul's head.

"Well, working out does cause one to sweat," Paul quipped and pinched Daryl's love handle. "Now get in the shower,"

Daryl chuckled, kissed his cheek, and then did as he said. Paul quickly pulled his hair from its bun and ran a brush through it before he joined Daryl under the spray of the water.

Paul groaned at the delightful feeling of the water rushing over his body, and he definitely thought that the shower is one of the best things about the new house. At their old apartment, the water pressure was weak, and if they showered for more than five minutes, the water would go cold.

After a few minutes, Paul felt Daryl's fingers enter his hair and begin massaging shampoo into his scalp. Paul sighed and leaned into the man's touch. Usually, he did this for Daryl, but he loved it when the other man would do it for him. Really, Paul loved anything that involved that Daryl's hands on him.

"That feels nice," Paul sighed, and if it was possible for him to fall asleep standing up, he's reasonably sure he would have.

"Step under the water," Daryl said and began washing the foaming shampoo from Paul's hair once he did.

They repeat the process of shampooing Paul's hair once more, and then Daryl fingered conditioner into the length of it before he reached for the comb on the shelf, the thing was bright pride flag colours and Paul had found it at some dollar store on one of their first dates and the thing was somehow still alive.

"I like you doing this for me," Paul said softly as Daryl gently combed the conditioner through his hair.

Daryl smiled at him. "You said you were exhausted, wanted to take care of you and make you relax," He said, and Paul leaned forward for just a second to peck the man's nose. "Still up to sucking you if you wanna relax more," He then joked, a cute grin over his lips.

Paul snorted and playfully shoved at Daryl's chest. "Shut up, finish my hair so we can order a pizza and go cuddle and watch shitty movies."

Daryl smirked and placed the comb back on the shelf and encouraged Paul to move his head under the water. Paul did so and enjoyed the last moments of Daryl's fingers in his hair before he finished.

Once Paul's hair had been finished, they spent a few minutes washing each other's bodies before they stepped out of the shower. Water was dripping from their bodies, and Paul's teeth chattered slightly as he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his shoulders, and then using another to dab the rest of his body down, and Daryl did the same.

After they dried themselves, Paul wrapped his arm around Daryl' s back and held him close as they walked from the bathroom and into the bedroom to collect their pajamas.

Paul approached Daryl when he had his comfy clothes on, and wrapped his arms around his middle and pulled him close. He pressed their lips together warmly and smiled at how easily Daryl kissed him back, he remembered how nervous the other man had been when it came to kisses for at least the first two months of their relationship.

"You go find a shitty movie to watch, and I'll call and order pizza?" Paul offered once they broke apart, his fingers drawing patterns over Daryl's waist.

"See you on the other side," Daryl said dramatically, squeezed Paul's butt affectionately, and then made his way out of the bedroom.

Paul laughed fondly and made his way to the dresser to grab his phone.


	4. Mirror

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl gets insecure about his body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 4!

When Paul finished work and entered his and Daryl's bedroom, he was expecting to find the man curled up on their bed with a book, his laptop, or his phone. He instead, found him standing inside their walk-in wardrobe, naked, and looking at himself in the full-length mirror.

Paul furrowed his brows at the sight of him, he didn't think he'd ever seen Daryl do this before. He didn't like the look that Daryl had on his face.

"Daryl, baby," Paul said softly and stepped a little closer to him.

Daryl jumped slightly and spun his head to look at him. "Hey," He grunted softly and then looked back in the mirror.

"What are you doing?" Paul asked and carefully placed his hand on Daryl's waist.

"Jus' lookin'."

"Looking at what?" He continued, his fingers drawing patterns over Daryl's skin. Daryl sighed heavily, glanced at Paul and then down at his feet. "Daryl, love, what's wrong?" He murmured, he was getting worried now, a lot had changed since the two of them first got together, Daryl was a lot happier now, and he was very concerned to see him like this.

Daryl bit his lip and then looked up at himself in the mirror again. "I've gained weight, got more of a gut," He finally mumbled, poking himself right in the middle and then grabbing at one of his love handles.

Paul sighed, "Daryl, honey," He mumbled and moved to stand behind Daryl, and he rested his head on the man's bare shoulder and looked at him in the mirror.

And looking at him, yeah, it did seem that Daryl had put on a pound or two. His stomach did appear a little softer, and the man hadn't been out hunting the past couple of months, which was his main form of exercise, because they had been busy looking for houses, and then getting this one settled. Paul didn't care in the slightest.

"You can see it can't you?" Daryl grunted and tried to shift away from Paul, but Paul held him tighter.

"You know what?" Paul said, and met the man's eyes through the mirror. "Maybe you have gained a little weight," Paul said, because he and Daryl didn't lie to each other and Paul wasn't about to lie to the other man to make him feel better about himself. He was instead, going to remind Daryl, that he loved him, that he loved him just how he was and that was never going to change, and that he didn't need Daryl to change. "But why does that matter? I find your tummy sweet, and you are the sexiest man I have ever laid my eyes on." Paul said to him and pressed a kiss to Daryl's neck and firmly grabbed his waist and squeezed a little. "Being a little squishy here, won't ever change that. You're so beautiful, and gorgeous, and I love you so much,"

Daryl hummed a little, looked at himself in the mirror a little longer, and then turned around to face Paul. "Maybe I could work out with you a little," He said after a few minutes of playing with the ends of Paul's hair.

Paul smiled and pulled him a little closer, and he ran his fingers over Daryl's shoulder blades. "If that's what you want, then, of course, you can work out with me. But please don't feel like you have to lose weight, okay? Only do it if you want to." Paul instructed him and leaned up to kiss him quickly.

Daryl managed to smile down at him and stopped playing with Paul's hair to just rest his hands on the man's shoulders instead. "Know you love me," He said softly, his cheeks were flushed red. "Do it for me if I did,"

"Okay," Paul said, "Your choice my love,"

Paul moved his hands down from Daryl's shoulder blades and back to the front of his body, he ran his hands over Daryl's middle and smiled up at him.

Daryl hummed and shifted closer to rest his head on Paul's shoulder. "I love you, darlin'," He murmured, and Paul smiled because he loved hearing Daryl say that, they were three years into their relationship before Daryl had started calling him pet names.

"I love you too, my gorgeous, sexy, wonderful, boyfriend," Paul said and began pressing kisses all over Daryl's cheek, jaw, and neck.

It managed to draw a laugh out of Daryl, and he allowed Paul to continue for a few moments before he gently pushed him back and then reached for his sweats that sat on one of the shelves.

Paul smiled at him fondly, and lovingly squeezed a love handle with one hand, and a butt cheek with his other. 


	5. Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paul gets Daryl flowers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 5!

Paul's final class finished around six, and he spent a good hour afterward cleaning up the dojo and filling out some paperwork before he finally left the dojo. His staff had all left hours ago, so Paul didn't need to worry about trying to shoo those who attempted to stay late out the door.

Paul looked at the time and sighed heavily as he turned onto the street he was searching for. Paul had been home late almost every night for the past two weeks, and he knew that Daryl was slowly beginning to get a little annoyed by it, but tonight was the last night Paul worked late. So, before he headed out of town to his and Daryl's house, he decided to make a quick stop.

He put the car in park and then stepped out, his wallet tightly in one hand as he locked the car.

It was a little cold outside, it was approaching mid-Autumn and winter was well on its way. He made his way down the street quickly as he only had on a light long sleeved shirt and no jacket or coat, he knows where he left his favorite maroon one, around Daryl's shoulders when they had had breakfast outside on the porch.

He approached the florist's first, and was relieved to see that it was still open, it was late night shopping tonight, but sometimes certain places would still close.

He pushed the door open, and the bell above it gave a little ding. The smell of plants immediately filled his nose and began walking to the area where he knew the pre-made bouquets were. He smiled at the woman behind the counter when she met his eyes, and the reached the bouquets.

He looked through them in search of what one Daryl would like. He huffed because after a few minutes of browsing, he still hadn't found anything that he liked. It took another minute or so, but he came across a bouquet that was a mix of red roses, and yellow and white daisies. He immediately grabbed it and took it to the counter.

Once he had paid for the flowers, he then went into the store next door and bought a box of expensive chocolate.

* * *

Paul entered the house through the garage, and as soon as he stepped into the main area of the house, and immediately groaned at the amazing smell that greeted him.

Daryl looked over at him from the kitchen from where he was serving food out onto plates. "Hey, darlin'," He greeted, sounding more cheerful than what he had been this morning when Paul had told him he would be home late again.

"Hi, gorgeous," Paul greeted him, loving how soft the man looked in nothing but grey boxers and fuzzy socks. Paul kicked off his own boots and then made his way to the kitchen, and Daryl leaned over to kiss him softly as he placed some pans into the sink. "I have something for you," Paul said and placed a hand on the man's hip to turn him around.

"Yeah?" Daryl asked with a soft smile and reached out to hold one side of Paul's waist.

Paul smiled and leaned up to quickly kiss the man's cheek. He then pulled out the bouquet and box of roses that he had behind his back, and he handed them both to Daryl. "It's an apology for me having worked late for so long,"

Daryl smiled at the items that Paul had handed him, and then placed them on the counter before he wrapped Paul in a hug. "It's okay, I get it, as long as I get to have you back now," He said softly from where his head was rested on Paul's shoulder.

Paul smiled softly and kissed his boyfriend's head, "Mhm, no more working late for a while. I have the entire weekend off too, I'll take you out on a very romantic date, okay?"

Daryl stood up straight again and wrapped both of his arms around Paul's waist. "Sounds fucking perfect,"

Paul pressed their lips together warmly and threaded his hands into the other man's hair. "I love you,"

"Love you too," Daryl replied and kissed his forehead before stepping away from him. "Now you take dinner over to the table, and I'll put the flowers in some water,"

"Sure," Paul replied and patted the man's butt before grabbing for the plates.


	6. Rocky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They adopt a dog together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 6!

Paul smiled at Daryl fondly, the man was in the seat beside him, happily watching the streets go by and was tapping his fingers against the dashboard.

Paul knew that Daryl had been waiting for this day ever since he was a little kid. Ever since one of the kids in his second-grade class had brought in a photo of his new puppy for show and tell, Daryl knew that he wanted a dog.

But whenever he asked his dad back when he was younger, it would end in him being hit in some form. When he had finally moved out of his father's house and to Richmond, Virginia, he could only afford an apartment, and he hated being cooped up in apartment enough, he couldn't imagine a big dog would like it.

Even after he and Paul had been together for year and Daryl moved into Paul's larger apartment with him, he still didn't want a dog to live in it. He wanted to wait until he and Paul eventually moved into their own house, a house with a big backyard for the dog to exercise and play, but enough room in the house that it wouldn't feel cooped up when it was inside.

The two men have lived in the house for two months now, and the previous night, Daryl had officially asked Paul if they could go to the shelter in the morning and get a dog. And Paul, despite not being either a dog or cat person, saw how excited his love looked, and couldn't say no.

Forty minutes after leaving their house, they arrived at the shelter, and Paul quickly parked the car. Once he had, he reached for his wallet and phone while Daryl immediately jumped out of the car, and then waited in front of it for Paul.

"Come on!" The older man said impatiently after Paul had gotten out of the car and was quickly reply to a text on his phone.

Paul chuckled fondly and tucked the phone into his back pocket before locking the car and walking to Daryl. Once he reached the man, he took his hand and began to lead him to the front doors of the shelter. "Alright, sweetheart. Let's go get you your dog,"

They made their way inside the shelter. The front room appeared to be a reception with a desk, a flyer stand, various products, and seating areas. A middle-aged woman stood behind the desk and was accepting cash from a woman who held pet carrier in one hand, Paul smirked when he caught Daryl trying to angle his head to be able to see inside it.

"Hello, can I help you two gentlemen?" A woman asked who had just appeared through a door on the other side of the room.

Paul squeezed Daryl's hand and took a few steps towards the woman, he smiled when the man squeezed his hand back, he remembered a time when Daryl wouldn't accept any affection from him in public.

"Yes," Paul replied, "We're looking to adopt a dog,"

"Lovely," The woman said and motioned to a door, "All of the dogs are through that door there, those that have already been adopted will have a sign on their cage saying so,"

"Thank you," Paul replied as Daryl quickly began walking towards the door.

The room they walked into had cages on each side of the walkway, and almost all of them with dogs, some had several puppies. There were other people in the room, some staff, and some other people searching for a pet.

Paul walked along as Daryl looked in the cages and petted the dogs. Paul didn't really mind what dog, so he left the decision entirely to Daryl as the man had wanted it so long.

"Puppy or big dog?" Daryl asked from where he was squatted down and petting a panting bulldog through the cage.

Paul tore his eyes from his phone where he had been replying to emails, and looked down at the man, "Whatever you want, gorgeous," Paul replied with a smile.

"Okay," Daryl said softly and stood up again, and made his way to another cage.

Daryl looked at several more before he suddenly speed walked to another at the end of the hallway, and Paul hurried after him. He smiled when he found Daryl completely sat on his ass, and petting a german shepherd, older puppy, through the cage, and the animal was whimpering and licking at his fingers.

Paul looked up to the paper stuck to the cage and read it.

_Hello, my name is Rocky. I am a six-month-old German Sheperd that loves people. I am very smart and already know how to walk on a lead along with some basic commands like sit, lay down, and stay. I was found on the side of the road one month ago after being hit by a car, I'm all better now and waiting for a good home!_

"He the one?" Paul asked and reached down to finger through Daryl's hair.

Daryl nodded and looked up at him with a big smile. "Yep,"

"I'll go get a staff member," Paul said and stepped away from him.

* * *

Almost two hours later, they were back home, and Daryl had left Paul to the task of unpacking all the things they had bought from the pet supply store as he immediately took the dog out to the backyard. The man did take one bag with him, the bag that had Rocky's toys in it.

It took Paul ten minutes to get inside. There was a bed, several blankets, more toys, a massive bag of dog food along with smaller bags of treats, a leash and collar, grooming supplies, a dog bowl, and a large kennel in a box that they needed to set it up in the backyard.

Paul went into the garage before he joined Daryl, he grabbed a bag of the man's tools and then collected the collar and kennel before he made his way out the back door to the backyard.

He found Daryl laying on his back on the ground, and the dog climbing all over him.

The dog looked up when he heard Paul, and ran over to him and bound around his legs. Paul placed the items down and petted him for a few moments, then was able to put the red collar on the dog's neck before he charged back to Daryl, already seeming to have a favorite.

Daryl didn't help Paul put set up the kennel much, but Paul didn't mind, the happy expression on the man's face was completely worth it.


	7. Kisses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl comes home drunk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 7!

It was just after one am when Paul's phone began to ring from where it sat beside him. He was being his usual night owl self and was up on the couch, he had his laptop open in his lap and was watching YouTube with one hand stroking the head of Rocky.

The dog had had a small tantrum after Daryl had left several hours ago, as he usually did, but quickly settled down with Paul on the couch and went to sleep.

Paul picked up the phone, found Daryl's name flashing on the screen. He answered the call and pressed the phone to his ear.

"Hey, baby," He greeted.

"Paul!" Was Daryl's reply, and Paul winced and the volume of it.

"Daryl," Paul said, a tiny smirk on his face as it came more apparent that Daryl, along with their other friends that he could hear, was drunk. He could also hear Rosita, the designated driver for the night, trying to calm everyone down.

"Comin' home now," Daryl slurred, and Paul barely heard it over Rick's obnoxious singing the back now, Paul guessed that they were all in the car.

Paul smiled, "Okay, gorgeous, how far away you?" He asked.

Daryl made a strange noise, then said, "You called me gorgeous, nobody ever calls me that," he whispered.

Paul laughed softly, "I've been calling you that for five years,"

"Really?" Daryl said, and Paul imagined that he would be wide-eyed.

"Mhm," He replied, "How far away are you?" He repeated.

"I dunno, I see houses,"

Paul ran a hand over his face, "Do you see the houses in town or the ones out of town on the way to our house,"

"I think it's a brick one," Daryl said enthusiastically even though it was no help.

"Ask Rosita how far away you are, okay?"

"Okay," Daryl replied childishly, and Paul once again winced when Daryl yelled his question at Rosita to be heard over everybody else in the car. "She says two minutes away," He told Paul a few moments later.

"Alright, gorgeous, you hang up the phone now and say your goodbyes to everyone, and I'll wait for you out the porch," Paul told the man, his fingers playing with Rocky's ears, the dog was well and truly asleep now.

Daryl made an excited noise again, "You called me gorgeous 'gain!"

Paul laughed softly, "I'll see you in a minute gorgeous," Paul said to him, and Daryl made an excited noise once more before Paul hung up the phone.

* * *

"Daryl, stop it," Paul hissed when the man had reached for his belt and attempted to unbuckle it as he dropped to his knees.

"Why?" Daryl whined as Paul pulled him back up, and pouted as Paul pulled a sweater onto the man.

Paul straightens the sweater up, along with his sweatpants, and then places the man's dirty clothes into the hamper. "Because you're very drunk, and you need to go to sleep,"

"Can I have a kiss at least?" Daryl then asked, still sounding disappointed, but looking at Paul with hopefulness in his eyes as Paul helped him lay down.

Paul smiled at that and pulled the covers up the man's chest. "Yes, sweetheart, you can have kisses,"

"More than one?" Daryl asked excitedly and made grabby hands at Paul as he crawled into the bed himself.

Paul chuckled, and laid down beside Daryl, facing the drunk man. "Yes, more than one," He said and leaned forward and pressed his lips against Daryl's.

Paul used to hate it when Daryl was drunk, for about the first year of their relationship, Daryl was angry and a complete asshole whenever he was drunk. He still struggled with his demons back then, but he'd come a long way since then.

They kissed for several minutes, sweetly and lovingly, before Paul shifted back slightly, and he ran his fingers through Daryl's hair as he looked at him. "Did you have fun tonight?" He asked the gorgeous, blue-eyed man in front of him.

Daryl nodded quickly and reached out to wrap an arm around Paul's shoulders, and he shifted closer to him. "Had good drinks, and danced with Rick,"

Paul snorted, "You danced with Rick?"

"Yep," Daryl replied, and then proceeded to bury his face in Paul's chest, suddenly becoming sleepy. "He fell over,"

Paul smiled and cupped the back of the man's head, and played with the man's hair. "That's not surprising. Now, you need to go to sleep, okay?"

Daryl hummed into Paul's neck in response, and within seconds, he was asleep. All Paul did, was roll his eyes fondly. 


	8. In A few Years

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl asks Paul a difficult question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 8!

Daryl tried his best to ignore the ache in his lower back as tucked a fresh sheet under the mattress of the upstairs' spare bedroom's mattress. Carl, who was now fifteen, had stayed at theirs over the weekend, as Michonne, Rick, Judith, and RJ were all sick, and he had a school trip that he didn't want to get sick for.

Monday was cleaning day. Both he and Paul had Saturday and Sunday off, but they liked to enjoy those days. Daryl also had all of Monday off, and Paul only had one class to teach in the afternoon, so Monday was the day they cleaned the house or did boring errands.

Paul was downstairs cleaning the main bathroom, and if Daryl listened carefully enough, he could hear the man singing.

He finished putting the sheets on the bed, and then proceeded to throw the duvet cover over it, and then arranged the pillows on it. Once the bed was made, he moved on to vacuuming the carpet, rolling his eyes at the number of chip crumbs that he sucked up, he was certain he had heard Carl midnight snacking, and that confirmed it.

Finally considering the room clean enough, he unplugged to vacuum cord from the wall and then wrapped it up. He carried the vacuum downstairs and put it back in its place in the laundry cupboard before he made his way back through the house.

He stopped by the main bathroom of the house to pop in and drop a kiss to Paul's cheek who was scrubbing the sink before he made his way back upstairs.

He had intended to go into their home office and tidy up the papers that he knew were a mess on both his desk, and Paul's, though he probably wouldn't have touched Paul's desk because the man liked things organized a certain way and he didn't want to mess it up or accidentally through something away.

Instead of the home office, he ended up in the spare bedroom again. He sat down on the bed, looking at the cupboard which was still open, displaying the toys that they stored inside for when they had Rick and Michonne's, or Glenn and Maggie's kids over.

Daryl loved whenever they had the kids over and had enjoyed the weekend with Carl so much, he was sad when he had to leave. He loved kids, always had really, he just never properly had kids in his life until he became friends with Rick. He knew that he wanted to be a father, that he wanted to raise a child the way he never had been.

He wasn't exactly sure how Paul felt on the subject though, he knew the man loved their friend's kids, and that he adored the kids he also taught in some of his classes, but Daryl wasn't exactly sure how the man sat on having children of his own. Daryl had brought it up once almost three years ago when the two of them got back to their apartment after visiting newborn RJ in the hospital. Paul had given him a simple reply of 'maybe one day,' but clearly didn't exactly want to talk about it.

Though Daryl knew that he wanted children, he also knew that if Paul didn't, it wouldn't be a deal breaker, because he needed Paul in his life. He loved him too much to ever say goodbye to him.

Daryl imagined what it would be like, for the room to have a crib instead of a queen bed, various colors around the room instead of sticking to one stereotypical one because they, of course, wouldn't force gender roles or stereotypes on their hypothetical child. He imagined the two of them bickering over whose turn it was to get up in the middle of the night, or having the kid jump into bed with them when they were a bit older.

His mind continued to wander for several minutes, and he didn't even notice Paul had entered the room until he felt the man's hand on his shoulder.

"Hey," Daryl said softly and scooted across the bed, making room for Paul to sit down with him.

Paul reached up and threaded his fingers into Daryl's hair, "You okay? I thought you finished in here," He asked softly, brow slightly pulled together in concern.

Daryl sighed heavily and looked away from the other man. It took him a few moments to answer, and he only did when Paul kissed his neck softly and whispered that he loved him. "Do you think this room could be a nursery?" He finally asked, swallowing thickly and trying to ignore the nerves that bubbled in his stomach.

Daryl immediately felt Paul tense, and shift away from him slightly, "Maybe one-" He started, but Daryl cut him off.

"I don't want a maybe answer, I want a yes or no answer. Do you want to have kids at some point in the next few years, or no?" He asked, and there was a thump in his throat as he finally looked over at Paul. He found the man looking at him with an expression he couldn't read.

"Daryl," He said softly, and after a few moments it didn't appear as if he was going to say anything else, so Daryl spoke again.

He sighed heavily and began to fiddle with his hands. "Listen, Paul," He said softly, and reached out and grasped his boyfriend's hand, found it sweaty. "I've always been patient with you, with your commitment issues. It took four months of you fucking me, and then a month of you ignoring me to accept that you wanted to be with me. We're going on five and a half years, and you still ain't asked me to marry you, and I haven't asked you, because I know that you need to be the one to take that step towards that kind of commitment. I've never had a problem with it, and never pressured you because I'm okay with being patient for you," He watched as Paul licked his lips and swallowed thickly, and he looked so uncomfortable that Daryl just wanted to hug him, "But I just want to know if you want to have kids with me one day. I'm nearly thirty-six, and you're thirty, we've established our careers, we got a house, we're financially stable. I just need to know, if you want kids, and if you even want to get married, while we're at it,"

He finally finished, and he didn't mind when Paul pulled his hand from and used it along with his other to rub it over his face. "Of course, I want to marry you," He eventually mumbled into his hands, and Daryl smiled at that and reached out and stroked the man's temple with his fingers as that was all Paul's big hands weren't covering.

Almost another minute passed, "And kids?" Daryl said softly.

He heard Paul sigh heavily, and the man finally lifted his head from his hands, and he looked at Daryl with glassy eyes, "If I don't, is that a deal breaker for you?" He asked, voice quiet, and it cracked once.

Daryl shifted and tucked his hands under Paul's thighs to lift the heavy man partly into his lap. "No," He said firmly, and could immediately see the relief on Paul's face. He leaned forward and kissed his lips briefly before he looked at him again, "I love you so much, ain't nothing gonna be a deal breaker, darlin'. But I want kids, and I need to know if they're in our future or not,"

Paul dropped his head forward and rested it against Daryl's. "I don't know," He whispered, "I've thought about it, and it confuses the fuck out of me. Because when we're with Rick's kids, or Maggie's, I enjoy it, enjoy looking after them. But I'm always relieved when they leave, because the idea of them sticking around, and that I'd have them forever and that they'd be one hundred percent my responsibility terrifies me. I just don't know,"

Daryl stroked the man's back over his t-shirt, and he heard Paul sniffle and realised that the man is sort of crying. He pulled him onto his lap even more and pressed his lips against his cheek. "I don't need an answer _right away_ , but I need it soon. You can take a few days, or weeks to think about it if that's what you want,"

"What if I think that I do, and then decide that I don't after you've had your hopes up and been excited?" Paul asked softly and rested his bearded chin on his shoulder.

Daryl sighed heavily, "As long as you don't run out on the kid and me if we have one, I'd get over it,"

"What if I do that? Run out when we have a kid,"

"You won't," Daryl replied, "I know you too well, know you wouldn't do that,"

Paul went quiet again, and Daryl was content to hold the man in his arms. "I'll take you up on those few days or weeks," He replied after a few minutes.

Daryl smiled at the words, and then a little broader when he felt Paul kiss his neck gently. "Okay,"

"I love you. I love you so much, Daryl," Paul said and lifted his head to press their lips together.

Daryl pulled away for just a second to reply, "I love you," before Paul grasped his face firmly in his hands and kissed him again.

* * *

It was almost two weeks later when Daryl came out of the shower and laid himself down on the bed beside Paul who was just laying there and staring up at the ceiling.

"What are you up to?" Daryl asked, adjusting the towel around his waist.

Paul sighed heavily and then rolled over, so he was laying above Daryl, and he pushed some hair back from his face as he looked down at him. "So," He said softly, "What did you have in mind, adoption or surrogacy?" He asked quietly, a tiny smile twitching at the corner of his lips.

Daryl's lips spread wide, and he lifted his arms up around Paul's shoulders. "Surrogacy, I want a mini you," He replied as he pulled Paul down on top of him.

He lasted all of one minute before he began sobbing. He was sobbing with happy tears, and Paul knew that, and he rolled onto his back so Daryl could curl up into him and bury his face in his neck.

He knew that Paul could still change his mind and that it couldn't happen, but at that moment, he was going to be a father in a few years.


	9. Retching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paul gets sick in the middle of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 9!

Daryl was startled awake when the bed's covers were thrown from his body, and there was the sound of heavy footsteps meeting the hardwood floor.

He furrowed his brows and quickly sat up in the bed, he reached beside him and flicked on the lamp on his nightstand just in time to see Paul disappear into the bathroom, and the door swing closed behind him.

He stared at the door in confusion for a few moments, and then there was a loud retching sound coming from behind it. Daryl winced and then quickly stood up from the bed and made his way to the bathroom.

He carefully pushed the door open, and sure enough, he found Paul bent over the toilet, and his whole body jerking as he threw up his dinner. Daryl dropped to his knees behind him and immediately reached for his boyfriend's hair, he pulled the man's long chestnut hair back from his face and held it in a ponytail.

"Aw, darlin'," He said softly as Paul retched again, knuckles white where they gripped the toilet bowl.

"Been awake the past hour, hadn't been feeling good, figured I was going throw up," Paul said once he had stopped, his voice raspy and weak.

Daryl sighed, and reached for the hairband on Paul's wrist, he tugged it off and began to tie Paul's hair in a messy bun, "You should have woke me up," He said as did.

"You were exhausted, needed your sleep,"

"Don't worry about that," Daryl said softly and rubbed his hands up and down Paul's waist. After a few moments, he felt Paul's stomach clench, and within a few seconds, the younger man was throwing up again. Daryl shushed him and kissed the back of his neck as he did, wanting to comfort him.

The two of them stayed in the bathroom for the next hour as Paul threw up on and off, and when he finally felt better, Daryl held most of his weight as the man quickly brushed his teeth, and then Daryl helped Paul get back into the bed.

"Do you want some water?" Daryl asked as he tucked the covers over the other man.

Paul shook his head and weakly patted the bed beside him, Daryl smiled and crawled into the bed beside Paul and wrapped an arm around the man's shoulders as Paul shifted closer to him and buried his face in Daryl's chest. "I apologise in advance if I get you sick," He murmured against Daryl's bare flesh, and then pressed a lazy kiss to it.

Daryl huffed a laugh as he played with the baby hairs at the back of Paul's neck. "It's okay, Paul. Don't stress, just get some sleep,"

* * *

Paul was no better by the morning, and Daryl called his boss to let him know that he would be taking a day off to look after Paul, and Dale, being the wonderful boss that he was, didn't mind at all. Once he had done that, Daryl texted the manager of Paul's dojo, and also let him know that Paul was unwell and wouldn't be coming in.

By the time he was done, Paul was walking out of the bathroom and noisily blowing his nose. "Come get back in bed," Daryl told him, and held the man by his shoulders and helped him lay down.

"Did you let work know?" He asked sleepily as he dropped his tissues down onto the nightstand, and settled against the pillows.

"Yeah. I'm staying home to look after you as well,"

Paul screwed up his nose, "No, I don't want you to do that,"

Daryl smirked, and pushed some hair back from the man's face, "Why? You faking it and planning on having a secret boyfriend come over?"

Paul snorted and blinked his heavy eyes open to look up at him. "Oh, yeah, that's definitely it," He joked.

Daryl laughed and dropped his head down and pressed his lips against Paul's head, feeling a little worried at how warm it felt beneath his lips. "You always stay home for me when I'm sick. I'm going to do the same for you, okay?"

Paul took a deep breath, and lazily drew patterns over Daryl's thigh. "Fine, sweetheart,"

Daryl chuckled and stood up from where he had sat himself down beside Paul's hip. "I'm going to go and make you some breakfast, okay?"

"Okay," Paul replied, "Something light though,"

"Sure," Daryl answered, and kissed the man's forehead one more time before he made his way out of the bedroom.


	10. The Woods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl and Paul go camping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 10!

Jesus could feel the sweat dripping down his back as he connected one pole to another. Both he and Daryl were working on setting up the tent that they would be spending the next two nights in.

They had decided to spend their weekend off out in the woods, camping and hunting and spending some quality time together away from everything and everyone, except for Rocky who they had brought with them. They had hiked for three hours until they were deep in the woods.

Daryl had taken him to a spot by the river where they had enough room to set up their tent and camp, and there was plenty of game around.

It took another ten minutes for the tent to be set up, and Paul smiled proudly when they finished, and he stepped over to Daryl to wrap his arms up around his shoulders and pull him into a kiss.

"What shall we do now, gorgeous?" Paul asked, and moved his head to press his lips against Daryl's jaw and then down his neck.

Daryl huffed a laugh and squeezed Paul's ass before he stepped back from him and to sit down on the nearby log. "We could go set some traps," He offered and began petting Rocky who had sat down at his legs.

Paul nodded, "That way, hopefully, we could have caught something and can cook it for lunch or dinner tomorrow. We'll have to heat up our stew tonight though,"

Daryl stood himself up and stretched his arms above his head. Paul looked at the little sliver of pale skin that was revealed to him, and he licked his lips, stepped forward, and pinched it.

Daryl grunted his protest and ducked away from Paul's fingers. "Asshole," He said and squatted down beside his pack and unattached his crossbow from it along with the things he would need to set traps.

Once he had them, the two men, along with an excited Rocky, began walking through the woods in search of places to set traps.

* * *

The crickets were loud around them, an owl was hooting somewhere up in the trees, and there's the sound of Rocky chewing on one of his toys.

Paul was stirring their stew in the pot they had set up in the fire, and Daryl was drawing in the dirt with a stick.

"How hungry are you, baby?" Paul asked as he deemed the stew heated up and began to serve it out onto little travel plates.

Rocky got up excited at the sight and smell of the food, but Daryl shooed him away, and the dog went back to his toy.

"Starvin'," Daryl replied and accepted the plate Paul held out to him and immediately took it.

Paul chuckled, and leaned over to kiss Daryl's cheek.

They both began eating, and Paul could feel the heaviness behind his eyes. While Paul was a very active and fit man, he had taught seven classes the previous day, and then he and Daryl had hiked for three hours and then ran around setting traps for several hours after that, and he was tired.

"You tired, darlin'?" Daryl asked as if on cue, and he smiled sweetly at him.

Paul hummed, "Very,"

"We'll eat and then we can go to sleep if you want,"

"Yes, please," Paul replied and leaned over to knock their shoulders together.

It only took them a few minutes to eat as they were starved, and then after cleaning up and asking Rocky to go to the toilet, they then made their way into the tent.  
  
Rocky curled up in the corner and rested his head on his legs. The two men crawled onto their camper mattress, and pulled the covers over themselves and snuggled close for warmth. Daryl buried his face into Paul's neck, and pushed his hands up under Paul's shirt and pressed them against his warm abs.

Paul cupped the back of Daryl's head and played with his hair in a way he knew put Daryl to sleep.

"I love you," Daryl mumbled, and Paul sighed at the feeling of the man's warm breath fluttering across his skin.

Paul hummed and tilted his head down to press his lips against the top of Daryl's head. "I love you," He whispered, and then closed his own eyes, and quickly drifted off to sleep.


	11. Oil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paul gets home after a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'm a day behind I'm sorry, I'll catch up.

Jesus was fucking exhausted, his eyes felt heavy, his limbs felt weak and sore, and he was certain he was on the edge of crying for no reason.

The door closed behind him louder than he intended it to, and the loud noise made him wince as he pulled off his boots. A pounding in his head had him wanting to turn off the sun if only that were possible.

Once his boots where off, he stood straight and began making his way through the house. He had finished at his usual time, but the day had felt like his hours were doubled.

He could hear the shower running from upstairs, and he began climbing the stairs, his knees and thighs protested the effort, and he groaned. He made his way to their bedroom, the door to the ensuite bathroom was closed, and the source of the noise of the shower.

Paul lazily pulled his clothes off until he was completely naked, and didn’t even bother putting his clothes in the hamper, left them right there on the floor, and dropped face down onto the bed.

The comfortable mattress and soft sheets welcomed him, and he rested his head on his arms and closed his eyes.

He was well on his way to being completely asleep when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, and then another on the curve of his butt.

Paul groaned, and shifted slightly, but didn’t look at the man.

“Long day, darlin’?” Daryl asked, and Paul felt his warm breath flutter across his shoulders. Paul hummed, he couldn’t even find the energy to speak with actual words. “You wanna massage?”

Paul immediately groaned, “Please, baby,” he muttered into his arms.

He heard Daryl chuckle softly and softly squeezed Paul’s butt before he shifted. Paul could hear some shuffling around before Daryl crawled over him, and he sat down on Paul’s thighs. Paul could feel the man’s warm skin, and his cock laying against Paul’s thighs gives away that Daryl is also naked.

“Just a long day, or did something happen?” Daryl asked quietly as he settled to get more comfortable. The sound of the bottle of oil being clicked open and squeezed onto Daryl’s palms met Paul’s ears, and he sighed happily.

“Just a long day,” He mumbled, and he’s not even sure if Daryl heard him, but then the man hummed and then placed his hands on him.

Daryl began using his hands on the sore muscle, pushing and pulling at the skin and using just the right amount of pressure to get all the knots out of his muscles.

It continued for several minutes, and then there was the sound of feet padding across the floor, and seconds later, Rocky jumped up onto the bed, and he licked Paul’s shoulder before he shoved him away. The dog settled down on the bed beside him.

“Do you want some dinner tonight? You should eat,”

Paul immediately shook his head as best he could in the position he was in. “Not hungry, just want sleep,”

Daryl leaned down, and Paul felt the man push his hair to the side and kiss his neck gently before he got back to work on Paul’s back. “Okay, you just fall asleep then, I’ll keep going ‘till you do,”

“Thank you,” Paul whispered and felt his entire body completely relax into the mattress.

It only took five more minutes for Paul to fall asleep. Once he had, Daryl got off him and put the oil away before tucking Paul under the blankets as best he could.

He kissed the back of the man’s head, and then left the room, calling for Rocky to come with him.


	12. The Ring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paul finally asks Daryl a big question.

The air around them was a little cold, and the slight breeze lifted Paul's hair, and it whipped behind him. Daryl walked along beside him, and their hands were clasped together between them, their shoulders brushed together every few moments.

They had just gone out to dinner at a very fancy restaurant, so they were both wearing suits, and their stomachs were full with their very expensive, but delicious meal. After the meal, they had decided to go for a walk through the park just across the road, it was a nice park that was full of gardens, it was very aesthetically pleasing.

Paul was a little nervous now, there was a reason he had just willingly spent nearly three hundred dollars on a three-course meal each for him and Daryl.

The conversation that he and Daryl had had almost two months ago now, as to whether children were in their future, and if Paul even wanted to get married. Paul had been feeling a little guilty ever since, they had been together five and a half years, and Paul hadn't shown Daryl the significant commitment that he probably should have by now. Not children, because though he had come to the decision that he did want them, he didn't want them just yet, but he had known for years that he wanted to marry Daryl, but he just hadn't asked him.

"That was damn good," Daryl said, and then proceeded to burp.

Paul snorted, and looked over at the man, _yes, this is who I want to spend the rest of my life with._

The two of them walked until they reached the dock at the end of the path they were on. The dock looked over at the small lake in the park, there was a couple of ducks floating around on the water, and Paul smiled as Daryl rested his elbows on the wooden railing and his eyes followed the birds.

Paul reached into the pocket of his suit jacket, and his fingers found purchase on the small metal box, and he pulled it out. The ring he had gotten from also a fancy jeweler in town, it was silver with an engravement on the inside that read, _If I did anything right in my life, it was when I gave my heart to you._

Paul took a deep breath and then opened the little box. Once it was open, he reached for Daryl's hand and tugged on it as he got down on one knee behind Daryl.

Daryl hummed and looked over his shoulder at Paul, furrowed his brows when he didn't see him at first, but then his eyes widened when he looked down and found Paul down on his knee.

"Paul?" He whispered as he turned around to face him.

Paul smiled at him nervously. "The first thing I need to say is sorry," He said softly and squeezed Daryl's hand, "Sorry that it took me so long to do this, and the second thing I need to say is thank you, thank you for sticking around and waiting for me,"

"Of course, darlin'," Daryl replied, his lips spread in a closed-lipped smile, and Paul could see the man's shiny eyes from the street lamp at the end of the dock.

Paul smiled even wider, "I love you so much, and I want to marry you, and I want to have kids with you in the next couple of years. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?" And he was almost crying now.

"Yes, I'll marry you, Paul," Daryl replied, and reached up with the hand that Paul wasn't holding, and wiped at his wet eyes.

Paul's heart swelled, and it felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He pulled the ring out of the box and slipped it onto Daryl's finger, he had decided not to tell Daryl about the inscription, choosing to wait for the man to see it when he takes the ring off. Paul loved giving Daryl surprises.

* * *

It was the two days later on Monday morning when Daryl saw the inscription.

"Paul?" Daryl asked as he walked out of the bathroom, dressed in his mechanic's uniform. Paul was still in bed as his first class of that day wasn't until noon, and he could stay in bed for a few more hours.

"Yeah, baby?" Paul asked, looking up from his phone.

"Do you still have that old rope leather necklace?" He asked as he twisted the silver ring around his finger.

Paul nodded, "Yeah, it's in the top drawer on the left in the walk in, why's that?"

Daryl ran his fingers over the top of Paul's foot which was peaking out of the covers, and Paul smiled at the show of affection from the man. "I don't wanna wear my ring when I'm working. All the grease and crap will ruin it. I figured I could keep it on that necklace when I'm working so I still have it on me, but it won't get dirty,"

"Sure, that's a great idea. Go ahead, I don't really wear that necklace anymore anyway,"

"Thanks," Daryl replied and patted Paul's foot before he made his way into the walk-in closest.

It was a minute or two later when Daryl walked back out of the walk-in and quickly made his way to the bed. He laid down on top of Paul and buried his face in his neck. Paul could feel slight wetness against his skin.

"I fucking love you so much," Daryl said weakly, and Paul noticed that he was tightly gripping the ring in his palm. "The best thing I ever did was give my heart to you,"

Paul smiled and wrapped his arms around his fiancé "I love you too, sweetheart. I wanted to surprise you with it," He said, and pressed kissed against the side of Daryl's head.

Daryl let out one sob against Paul's neck and then stayed there snuggling him for about ten minutes before he got up and continued to get ready for work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't take credit for the quote that's engraved onto the ring, I did not come up with it, I found it on Pinterest but its author is unknown. I just really liked it and thought it suited Paul's feelings for Daryl.


	13. Lollipops

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two fiance's get cuddly at the theatre.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I've caught up on the day I missed :)

Paul jumped out of the car and closed the door. Once closed, he walked around to the other side of the car and waited for Daryl to turn the car off and also get out.

Once he had, Paul held his hand out and smiled when Daryl happily took it and gave it a squeeze. They both leaned into each other and met in the middle for a warm kiss, facial hair scratching against each other and Paul's thumb rubbing over the ring on Daryl's finger.

He was obsessed with the ring, the contrast of the silver against Daryl's tanned hands. Simply how it looked to have it there, how it felt to Paul that he had put it there, that it showed that Daryl belonged to him and that the engravement on the inside showed that Paul belonged to Daryl.

Daryl had jerked him off that morning, and the sight of Daryl's hand wrapped around his cock, with a ring on it, had Paul coming almost embarrassingly quickly. Daryl had felt proud of himself and fondness towards Paul.

"Come on," Paul said once he was finally able to pull away from Daryl's lips, and he began walking towards the front door of the theatre.

Once they reached the front door, Paul smiled and playfully bowed as he pulled the door open and allowed Daryl to walk in first.

Daryl snorted, "Idiot," He grunted and lightly jabbed his elbow into Paul's stomach.

Paul laughed and followed Daryl inside, and he wrapped an arm around his waist as the both of them made their way to the ticket booth. They stopped at the end of the queue, and Paul leaned up to press his lips against Daryl's cheek, and a moment later, Daryl turned his head so Paul could peck him on the lips.

People looked at them, as they always did. Some watched with curiosity, fondness, or disgust. It used to bother Daryl, used to hate people looking, so he didn't accept affection in public unless it was hand-holding under a booth table at a restaurant or the occasional hand on his back or waist. But after five and a half years, he no longer gave a fuck about what other people thought of him and Paul.

Daryl rested his head against Paul's as they waited in line, and then almost groaned in complaint when Paul moved away from him to pull out his wallet and ask the woman in the booth for two tickets to whatever movie Paul had decided he wanted to see.

The middle-aged woman with a 'mom bob' smiled sweetly at them and handed Paul their tickets, and then the two men got into the second queue to be able to buy food.

At the movies, Paul was the person who could just do with popcorn and water, but Daryl and his sweet-tooth needed to have several different kinds of candies and chocolates, along with half of Paul's popcorn.

That's just what they got, two bottles of water, a large popcorn, a bag of m&ms, a Reese's' bar, a bag of chewy lollies, and three different flavored lolliepops because Daryl would eat at least two of them during the movie, and the other on the way home.

They got the best seats they could in the somewhat crowded theatre, and got their food and drinks all sorted and opened before the movie started as to not make noise during.

By the time the movie was ten minutes in, Paul had one of his arms around Daryl's shoulders, and Daryl had shrunken down in his chair to rest his knees against the back of the chair in front of them.

At a funny line in the movie, Daryl chuckled, and Paul found the little smile on his lips so cute that Paul had to lean down and peck the top of his head before shoving a mouthful of popcorn into his mouth.

Two hours later when the movie finished, the two men packed up their rubbish and walked out of the theatre holding hands and laughing as they talked about the movie they had just watched.

When Daryl fell asleep against the window on their drive back out of town to their house, green lollipop half hanging out of his mouth, Paul rolled his eyes and affectionately squeezed his fiancé's thigh.


	14. Fresh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl and Paul try out their new pool.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 14!

Paul was excited; he was very excited. It had taken several weeks for it to be built and cost them a whole lot of money, but he knew it would be worth it with the summer months coming soon.

The pool sat in their backyard, with a glass fence around it to prevent any children or drunken friends falling into it. It had a large umbrella and a couple of lounge chairs at one end of the little fenced in area, and a pool box at the other, which they had filled with toys for the kids.

After making out for several minutes due to seeing each other shirtless in tight and short bathing suits, they finally made their way through the house and into the backyard, and Rocky was bounding along beside them.

Paul pulled the gate open and didn't even hesitate in running along the concrete to the deep end of the pool, where he dived into the clear, fresh water.

He swam out a few meters, and then pushed himself upwards until his head breached the surface of the water. He could feel his hair stuck to his face, and the droplets of water dripping down his skin. He looked over and found Daryl sitting on the edge of the pool, lowering himself into the water.

Rocky was trotting along the pool's edge, seeming both curious and a little nervous as he sniffed at the water. Daryl finally dropped down into the pool just a few meters from Paul, the water going to just above his nipples.

Rocky whimpered now that Daryl was also in the water, and barked once. Paul smiled when Daryl immediately approached him with an outstretched hand, "You wanna come in the water, Rocky?" Daryl asked softly and scratched behind the German Shepard's ears.

The dog allowed Daryl to pet him for a few moments later before he trotted away again and curled up by the chairs.

Paul chuckles, "Looks like that's a no,"

Daryl huffed and turned around again, and then he proceeded to duck under the water and swim towards Paul, wrapping his arms around his legs and dragging him under the water with him.

Paul knew it was coming and took a deep breath before his head was once again under the water. He opened his eyes once he was submerged, and he was met with the blurry image of Daryl, and he reached out and grasped the man's firm shoulders.

The two of them some-what wrestled under the water for a while before the pushed themselves up again, and both grinned broadly before meeting each other in a kiss.

They pulled away after a few moments again, and Paul smiled as he swam around. He loved working out, and swimming laps was a new way that he could do so when it got too hot on certain summer days.

"We're gonna be the favorite uncles now that we have this," Paul said.

Daryl laughed softly and moved to float onto his back. "Good, it'll be fun to have 'em here in the summer, even if Rick and 'Chonne have their own, we got more space,"

Paul swam over to him and proceeded to kiss him softly before he moved to also float on his back. He took the other man's hand.

"We'll have our own, one day," Paul said.

Daryl was quiet for a few moments, "How long do you think?" He asked carefully; he still walked on eggshells whenever it came to future children conversations.

Paul smiled and squeezed Daryl's hand; he was finding that talking about children didn't scare him anymore, "I want to get married first, our date is set for four months away. After that, I'd like to have a year before we have a kid, but we could start looking into it because we don't know how long it would find a surrogate and an egg donor,"

He looked over as much as he could without submerging his face into the water again, he found a small smile on Daryl's face.

"Okay," The man said, his southern accent thick, "I'm good with that."

Paul squeezed his hand again.


	15. Late Night Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl and Paul have a conversation late in the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 15!

The bedroom was almost completely quiet. The only sound was that of their soft breathing.

They were under the covers, had them pulled up to their chins, and they were both laying on their sides with Paul's front pressed to Daryl's back. He had his forehead rested between Daryl's shoulder blades, and now and then he pressed kisses to the warm and bare flesh.

"You know, we need to pick a place to honeymoon, baby," Paul said, disturbing the quiet of the room.

Daryl grunted and moved his hand to trace his fingernails over Paul's arm that was wrapped over his waist, "Can't we just dissapear into the woods for a few weeks?" He grunted.

Paul snorted and squeezed one of Daryl's love handles, "No, baby. We go camping all the time; we could do it whenever. We're not spending our honeymoon camping."

He heard Daryl huff, "I don't care then, wherever you wanna go,"

Paul rolled his eyes, "That's not how it's supposed to work. We should be making the decision together. Is there anywhere you've ever wanted to go?"

Daryl was quiet for several long moments, "Rick and Michonne loved the Bahamas, looked fun from the photos,"

That made Paul smile, "Yeah? You think that might be a fun place to go?"

"Could look into it, I guess," Daryl replied, and Paul knew that was the other man's way of saying yes.

Paul kissed Daryl's warm skin, "Okay, I'll do that in the morning then,"

"Okay,"

Paul ran his hands over Daryl's warm body and hummed. He didn't think that he loved anything more than feeling Daryl's body beneath his hands. He moved the hand that was over Daryl's middle, to his back, and he began tracing the tip of his index finger over the man's scars.

Daryl never used to let him do this years ago. He hated Paul seeing or touching the scars that blanketed his body, shame and insecurity still stuck in his mind. His father had embedded it there. But after a while, he and Paul got closer as a couple and let Paul see them, despite the fear of rejection that coursed through him.

The first time that he had shown Paul the scars, he was taken by surprise when Paul lowered him down onto the bed and kissed every inch of scar tissue that he could find.

"I love you, so much, gorgeous," Paul whispered against warm skin, moving his arm to hold Daryl close to him again.

"I love you, too," Daryl replied almost immediately, and then rolled over, so he was facing Paul, and he scooted forward to bury his face in Paul's neck and wrap his arms around him.

The two of them slowly drifted off to sleep after that.


	16. Scent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl's tired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 16!

Paul had already been home for a few hours when Daryl entered the house through the garage and quickly dropped down onto the couch beside him, still in his mechanic's jumpsuit.

"You're home late. Have a long day?" Paul asked the exhausted looking man and reached over to squeeze the man's thigh.

Daryl grunted in reply, and closed his eyes, hiding the ocean blue color that Paul loved so much.

"Some woman came in last minute after bein' towed, she was desperate, couldn't say no to her. Fixed the car up and then had to clean up before I could leave,"

Paul reached up and began threading his long fingers through the man's brunette hair, it felt greasy and was due for a wash. "You've got tomorrow off, have a lay-in, okay?"

Daryl opened his eyes again and looked over at him, "It's Saturday, you should be home too?"

Paul quirked a brow, "Yeah I was meant to be, but the new is instructor starting tomorrow, and I need to be there, make sure everything goes smoothly,"

Daryl huffed a little in irritation, "That fucking sucks," He said, one of his favorite things was sleeping in late with Paul on Saturdays and then cooking themselves a large breakfast when they finally got themselves out of bed.

Paul huffed, "Not really. I've been understaffed ever since Damien left; it'll be good to not have as much work on my shoulders. I'll be able to get home earlier of a night,"

That seemed to cheer Daryl up a little bit. "Okay," He said softly, and then slumped over to lay against Paul's side, resting his head on his shoulder. "Wake me up when you leave,"

Paul smirked and tilted his head to kiss Daryl's hair softly, "I'll kiss you goodbye, don't worry," He told the man with a soft chuckle, and Daryl did the same before playfully whacking Paul's thigh.

He then proceeded to snuggle closer to Paul, rolling onto his side so that he was half laid over him, one of his legs between the other man's two, and his face tucked into his neck.

Paul wrapped an arm around the man, happy to hold him close even if he was getting some grease on his clean pajamas. He heard the older man take a deep inhale, and then sigh pleasantly and kiss his neck.

"You smell good," Daryl told him, pressing one hand under Paul's shirt.

Paul chuckled softly, "I got a new body wash, the usual one wasn't in stock,"

"I like this one better,"

"I guess I'll keep using it then, just for you," He said playfully, and smiled wide when Daryl hummed happily and wriggled even a little closer to him.


	17. Bookstores and Coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paul and Daryl visit a new bookstore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I missed 4 days, I'm sorry! But I've officially caught up now! Make sure you read this chapter, and the last three.

Daryl had lost track of Paul, which was never a surprising thing when the two of them were in a bookstore. Paul would go off into his own little world and wander through the shelves, not thinking about anything but the books in front of him or the blurb he was reading.

The new bookstore had opened on the other side of town a few weeks ago, and when the two of them finally had time, Paul demanded that went and visited it.

So, they drove the thirty minutes to the large store. Almost as soon as the car was parked, Paul was out of it and bounding off towards the front door of the bookstore, his leather wallet gripped tightly in his hand.

After making sure the car was locked and that he had his phone to entertain himself if he got bored, Daryl began following Paul towards the store.

Paul had at least stopped by the door and politely held it open for Daryl, "There's a lounge area and a coffee machine if you want to hang out there," Paul said before he disappeared into the bookshelves.

Daryl followed the man for a while, but it soon became clear that he wasn't going to be receiving any attention from his book-engrossed fiancé, so he drifted off from him.

He was smart enough to spend a few minutes searching for a book of his own and pay for it before he made his way to the lounge area, he knew that Paul could easily spend two hours in a place like this.

* * *

It was two hours later that Daryl stood up from the armchair he was happily reading on to pour himself a second coffee.

He left his book sat on the chair, so hopefully, nobody took his seat. He was pushing the little cardboard lid onto the takeaway coffee cup when someone appeared beside him.

"The coffee any good?" The man asked as he reached for a cup of his own.

Daryl looked up at the mystery man, who was almost a foot taller than him, found a guy with dark hair and stubble, and bright blue eyes. The man smiled warmly at him.

"Yeah, 's good," Daryl replied and wrapped his hand around the warm coffee cup.

"Fantastic," The man said and started working on making his coffee.

Daryl grunted awkwardly and then made his way back over to his armchair. He sat down on the comfortable cushion and brought his cup to his lips as he opened his book.

He read two more pages when the man sat himself down on the armchair beside him. "Enjoying your book?" The man asked him and drank a mouthful of his coffee.

Daryl squinted at him a little, "Good so far," He replied, smiling a little because that was always something Paul said. He never said a book was good until he finished it because according to him he had been 'betrayed' by books that seemed good but then had shitty endings or the plot got boring or bad.

"I'm Josh," The man finally introduced himself, and held out a large hand, smiling warmly at Daryl.

"Daryl," He replied after a few moments, and shook the man's hand, before looking back at his book.

The man chatted to him for the next few minutes, about the weather, about his job, or his friends, Daryl was really only replying to be polite.

He was relieved when he finally saw Paul approaching him, some two and a half hours after they had entered the store, a collection of bags held in both hands. He frowned when he saw the scowl over the other man's face.

"Hey," Paul said when he reached them, he then looked to Daryl. "Come on, baby, let's go home,"

Daryl quirked his brow, and smirked a little and stood up. Josh watched them leave, with a wave in Daryl's direction.

"You were jealous," Daryl said as they sat down in the car.

"Not jealous, just irritated that he was obviously interested in you even though you clearly have a ring on your finger," Paul replied as he started the car, reaching over and brushing his thumb over said ring for a moment.

"Don't matter whether he was or not. I'm engaged, and happy, wouldn't have looked twice," Daryl said, reaching over and pressing his lips against Paul's cheek.

Paul hummed, "Good, cause I love you too much for you to decide you want someone else now," He said almost playfully.

"Wouldn't dream of it, darlin'," Daryl assured the other man and squeezed his muscular thigh.


	18. The Farm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paul and Daryl have their wedding.

The farm looked gorgeous. There were fairy lights strung along the trees, and candles burning on top of the fence posts.

The archway was a few meters in front of the fence, the woods, and river visible behind it. The aisle itself was merely red, and yellow rose petals were strewn across the green grass. The seats were made of dark wood, and were elegantly rustic.

It was fifty yards or so from that that they had set up for the reception. More wooden tables and chairs, more lights and candles, flowers everywhere. The larger table at the head of the reception, had six seats, one for Paul, Daryl, Maggie, Carol, Rick, and Aaron.

The other tables were spread out, and there wasn’t many there. They didn’t want or need a lot of guests, they wanted it to be quiet and intimate with only their closest friends. Michonne, Carl, Judith, Glenn, Hershel Jr & Sr, Beth, Sasha, Abraham, Tara, Rosita, Eugene, Morgan, Sophia, Ezekiel, Gabriel, Eric, and an empty seat for Merle, who unsurprisingly, had not shown.

Both Paul and Daryl wore black suits, with white undershirts and black ties. They had different boots, both they were both black. Paul’s hair was pulled back in a neat bun, and Daryl’s was in a half up half down style. Paul also now wore a silver wedding ring, to match Daryl’s, with an engraving of Daryl’s own on the inside that read It makes me the luckiest man to have you.

Maggie’s father, Hershel, had happily agreed when the two men asked him to use his farm as their wedding venue. The two of them had always loved the farm, had gone hunting in the woods, camped in them, spent summer days in the rivers and lakes. They had a lot of good memories there and loved the idea of making even more.

Paul was happily chatting to Maggie, and Daryl to Rick as they ate their meals. The meal was also relatively simple, delicious steaks with fresh vegetables and side dishes of pasta.

Daryl had a mouthful of baked potato and gravy when he felt a hand on his waist, and he turned his head to face his husband. He found Paul smiling wide at him, and then he leaned forward and pressed his lips against his forehead. Daryl quickly swallowed his mouthful, so that he could kiss Paul right on the mouth.

"I love you so much, baby," Paul whispered once they pulled apart.

Daryk smiled wide and leaned forward to press his mouth against Paul's bearded jaw, "I love you, gorgeous husband," He said playfully and began kissing up Paul's cheek.

He heard Paul chuckle, and he felt an arm wrap around his shoulders. They cuddled and kissed for a few more moments before they returned to eating their meals.

* * *

About an hour later, everyone had finished their meals, and the soft music had changed to the song they had chosen for their first dance. As the two men stood up, it was an another _Hozier_ song. _Hozier_ was one of their favorite artists, and they loved the depth and meaning in his songs, and both, of course, found him very attractive but that was just a bonus.

Paul smiled as he took Daryl's hand tightly and led Daryl to the dance floor, he remembered the memory from almost a year ago now, the two men dancing in the rain to the same song, just a few weeks after they had moved into the house.

Paul wrapped his arms around Daryl's shoulders, Daryl's own going around his waist. Paul fingered at the hair at the back of Daryl's neck and smiled warmly at him. Daryl smiled right back.

They fell close to each other, Daryl's head on Paul's shoulder as the two of them slowly swayed their bodies to _Shrike_.

It was a long song, five minutes, but it felt like seconds and ended all too soon. There was soft clapping from their little family, but they didn't stop, they just continued to dance to the next song that played.


	19. Margaritas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl and Paul spend some time on the beach during their honeymoon.

The breeze was soft, and the sound of crashing waves was gentle, rhythmic and relaxing. People were laughing and talking all around them, children squealing with delight as they played.

Paul and Daryl sat a little further down the beach as they wanted some privacy, but they could still hear the commotion of what was happing fifty yards or so down the beach.

They were both laying on lounge chairs, in bathing suits, but Daryl also had a plain white t-shirt on as he wasn't comfortable with his scars being on display to the curious eyes of others.

They both had cold margaritas in their hands. Usually, it wasn't Daryl's kind of drink, and Paul knew that, but he had had this specific drink before and knew they Daryl would love the delicious fruitiness of it. He had been right, and he could see Daryl was very much enjoying the red colored drink, his lips around a swirly straw and taking steady sips from it.

Paul smiled fondly at him, reached his hand out and grasped Daryl's one in his own. Daryl looked over at him and smiled back at him sweetly. Paul looked over his face in adoration, the man's hair was still a little wet, and there were grains over sand on parts of his face. His cheeks had an adorable redness to them as he had gotten sunburnt. Paul knew that Daryl burnt very easily, and had packed aloe vera gel in his suitcase that was back in their hotel suite.

"You're cute," Paul said simply, and then took more sips of his own drink.

Daryl laughed softly, "Thanks, darlin'. You're pretty cute too," He said and leaned over to press their lips together for several long moments.

Once their kiss came to an end, they relaxed back onto their chairs and looked out at the ocean as they finished their drinks.

* * *

Once they had finished their drinks, they found themselves, half wrestling each other on their way back to the water. They had their arms around each other's shoulders and waist, and as they laughed and playfully insulted each other.

They made their way back into the waves until they were about up to their ribs. Paul placed his hands on Daryl's gorgeously broad shoulders, and shoved him under the water, going down with him.

They spent several minutes doing that, chasing each other and ducking under the water and pushing each other under. They finally came to a stop when Daryl grabbed Paul by the back of his neck and pulled him into a deep kiss. The kiss lasted several minutes, and by the time they tore apart, Paul had pulled Daryl as close as possible and was half hard in his pants.

"Love you," Paul whispered, as he smiled lovingly at the slightly taller man in front of him.

"I love you," Daryl replied, and Paul felt the man's fingers trace over his silver ring.


	20. Willow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl and Paul bring home their baby girl.

It was quiet when they entered the house, Tara and Rosita were looking after Rocky for them for the next week or so while they got settled. So, no excited dog was bounding around their legs begging for attention.

Paul closed the door behind him once Daryl had walked inside, and kicked his boots off. Paul followed Daryl further into the house and placed the little car seat down on the dining table when he reached it.

"Hey, baby," Daryl said softly as he looked down at the little pink bundle in his arms. "This is your new home, sweetheart,"

Paul smiled softly at him and stepped over. He wrapped his arm around the man's waist as he rested his head against his shoulder and looked down at the little bundle that was their daughter.

She was absolutely perfect. She was in a white onesie with little cartoon woodland creatures over it and wrapped in a pale pink blanket. She had chubby cheeks and tuffs of brown hair on the top of her head. She was only eight hours old, but Daryl was already insisting that she looked like Paul.

"She's falling asleep; we should put her down in the nursery," Paul said softly, and reached down to gently brush his thumb over the baby's cheek.

"I don't want to let go of her," Daryl said softly.

Paul smiled and then moved to stand in front of Daryl and place his hands under the baby, "Let me have a cuddle, and then we're putting her down to sleep," He said.

"Hmm, okay," Daryl said softly and transferred the bundle into Paul's arms.

"Hey, baby girl," Paul said, and she squirmed a little before settling. He leaned down and pressed his lips against her forehead. "Are you sleepy, Willow?"

Paul felt Daryl's arms wrap around him and his lips press against the side of his head.

Paul cuddled her for a little while longer before he began making his way through the house, Daryl following him up the stairs and into the nursery.

Paul came to a stop in front of the crib, and kissed her forehead one more time, held her out so Daryl could do the same, and then he lowered her down into the crib.

They both watched her fall asleep, and then they exited the room, turning the lights off and closing the door behind them. They made their way to their own bedroom, they quickly showered and then changed into their pajamas. They sorted some things around the house, cleaned up the kitchen and called their friends before they settled into the bed to try and get some sleep.

It was just after eleven pm when they were awoken by crying on their baby monitor. Immediately, they both sat up and quickly made their way out of the bedroom and across the hall to the nursery.

Just as they were about to enter, Paul stopped, "I'll go make the bottle," He said, and made his way down the stairs.

After making the bottle, Paul returned to the nursery and smiled at the sight of Daryl sitting in the little rocking chair with Willow in his arms. She was still crying, but not as loudly.

"Here," Paul said and handed the bottle to Daryl, and watched him place the nipple of it at her mouth.

"Hungry, sweetheart?" Daryl said softly as Willow began eagerly sucking on the bottle.

Paul fondly at him, and leaned down and pressed his lips against Daryl's forehead, and then his lips.


	21. Sunrise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paul has a cuddle with Willow.

Paul couldn’t sleep, and he wasn’t sure why. He should be desperate for sleep considering that he had a four day old baby.

He looked over at Daryl, found the man curled up into a ball and fast asleep. Paul smiled fondly at him and reached his hand over and cupped the man’s cheek, he stroked his thumb over the man’s cheekbone sweetly.

Daryl smiled a little in his sleep, and Paul leaned forward to kiss to man’s cheek before he carefully climbed out of the bed. Once he was out, he tucked the covers over Daryl’s body more, and then quietly left the room.

He headed down the wooden floored hallway, and into Willow’s nursery. He flicked the light on as he stepped inside, and walked over to the crib.

Looking down, he found that the baby was awake and was squirming inside of her swaddle.

“Hey, baby girl,” He said softly as he leaned down and picked her up, “Why didn’t you tell us you were awake, hmm?” 

He carried her over to the changing table and laid her down, and she let out a gurgle, he removed her from the swaddle, her onesie, and then changed her diaper before he dressed her in a clean onesie and wrapped his up again.

“It’s time for your bottle, why don’t we go outside on the patio,” Paul cooed at her as he picked the baby up again and held her against his chest as he made his way out of the nursery.

He made his way outside onto the front porch, and sat down on the swinging chair. He sighed happily and looked down at his daughter as he enjoyed the feeling of holding her in his arms.

He was perfectly comfortable with her now, when he had first got the call from their surrogate, Anna, that she had gone into labour, he had had a panic attack at the fact that he was just hours away from becoming a father. In turn, it had caused Daryl to have a panic attack, and they had to call Rick and Maggie to come over and calm them down.

“I love you so much, Willow,” he said softly, and ran his fingers over her silky soft hair.

She was slowly falling asleep, her little fist tightening around his finger. 

A few minutes later, the door beside him opened and Daryl stepped out.

“What are you doing out here?” Daryl asked and ran a hand over Paul’s hair as he sat down beside him.

“Couldn’t sleep, wanted a cuddle,” Paul replied and turned his head to kiss the other man.

Daryl hummed, and stroked Willow’s tiny chubby cheek with one hand, “She’s so amazing. So tiny and adorable,” He whispered, and leaned down to kiss her head.

“And she’s ours,” Paul whispered. 

Daryl laughed softly, and wrapped an arm around Paul’s shoulders. The two of them stayed there with their daughter and watched the sunrise.


	22. First Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick and Michonne meet little Willow.

It was just after lunch time when the front door’s bell rang. The television was on and on a music channel, Rocky had returned and sleeping peacefully in his bed on the other side of the room.

Daryl was sat in the armchair, chatting to Willow about nothing important and playing with her little fingers. Paul had been replying to some emails on his laptop, but stood up when he heard the bell.

He placed a quick peck on Daryl’s lips when he passed him, and then made his way to the front door. He pulled the door open when he reached it, and was immediately greeted by the sight of a smiling Rick and Michonne, who were next in line to meet their little baby.

Maggie and Glenn had come over the previous night for dinner, Tara and Rosita that morning when they brought Rocky back. Rick and Michonne had been crazy busy with their jobs, but they both only worked half days on a Saturday, so they came over when they were finished.

“Hi,” Paul greeted them, and hugged them both before inviting them into the house.

“How’s everything been?” Rick asked as he and Michonne followed Paul through the house.

“They’ve been good,” Paul said as he smiled at them over his shoulder, “Really good, we’re loving having a kid,” 

They reached Daryl soon enough, and he was already standing up when they got to them.

“Hi,” he greeted them softly, and accepted their hugs and Michonne’s kiss on his cheek before he eagerly transferred Willow into Rick’s waiting arms.

“This is Willow,” Daryl said softly, and shrunk to Paul’s side and wrapped an arm around his waist. 

Rick and Michonne immediately began cooing over the little baby in Rick’s arms, Michonne hanging off his shoulder.

“She’s gorgeous,” Rick said, finally looking up and giving them both a grin.

“She really is,” Michonne added.

Daryl smiled and rested his head against Paul’s, “She looks like Paul,”

Paul laughed, and nudged Daryl’s side, “She’s a week old, she doesn’t,” he said with a fond smile.

“Stop ruining my dreams, asshole,” Daryl huffed and elbowed his side.

Michonne laughed, looked at them with her wide, bright smile, “You two will never change,” she said, as Rick began transferring Willow into her arms.

Paul’s lips spread wide, and he cupped Daryl’s jaw, “I sure hope that we don’t,” he whispered, and Daryl leaned down and pressed their lips together. 


	23. Back to Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paul has to go back to work after having two months leave.

Paul was on the edge of crying, the very verge of tears. They were welled in his eyes and threatening to spill down his cheeks, his little girl was in his arms, blinking up at him and sucking on her little blue pacifier, and her tiny had was resting against his own.

"Paul," Daryl said from where he was sat down on one of the kitchen bar stools, "Darlin', you're gonna be late," He said softly.

"I don't care," Paul replied as he rocked Willow, humming softly under his breath to her.

Daryl sighed softly, stood up, and made his way over to him, "Come on," He said softly, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and pressing his lips against the side of his head, "She'll be okay, I got her,"

Paul almost whimpered, "I can't believe it's already been two months," He said softly, smiling when Willow's hand moved to grasp his finger and squeeze.

He felt Daryl smile against him, "I know, she's getting big," He said softly.

Paul nodded in agreement.

The two months had flown by, two months of uninterrupted time raising their baby girl, but the time had come that Paul had to go back to work. Daryl would be doing the same the following Monday, and that was when Willow would go into Carol's care during the day. Neither of them really wanted to send her to a daycare center. They wanted her to be with someone they knew and trusted, and Carol was already a stay at home mother to Henry and Sophia, but as they were at school during the day, so she suggested that she could take the baby during the days they worked until she started going to pre-school in a few years.

Both Paul and Daryl had agreed, after making sure Carol was completely okay with it, which she was, she was even very excited. The two of them were paying Carol for her services, she had protested that at first, but they eventually settled on a price, which was much less than what Daryl and Paul wanted to pay the woman, but they gave up on trying to fight her about it.

"You be good for your daddy while I'm gone, okay?" Paul said softly, "I'll miss you so much, sweetheart, but I'll be back tonight, I promise,"

He felt one tear slip from his eye, and Daryl's arm was immediately around his waist, "You'll be back home before you know it, and we'll be waiting right here for you," Daryl said quietly.

Paul sighed and nodded, he leaned down and kissed Willow's hair before transferring her into Daryl's waiting arms. He spent several moments looking at her before he leaned up and kissed Daryl.

"I love you," He said softly.

"Love you too, have a good day, I'll send you some photos,"

Paul smiled, kissed him one more time, and then spun on his heels and forced himself to make his way out of the house.

* * *

Eight hours later, it was five pm, and Paul was back home. He entered the house through the garage door and rushed through their home in search of his husband and daughter.

He found Daryl in the kitchen preparing their dinner, he smiled at the sight of Paul and wrapped his arms around him when he was in reach.

Their lips met gently, and Paul hummed in appreciation before pulling away, "Is she asleep?" He asked softly, running his fingers through Daryl's hair as he did.

Daryl nodded, and squeezed Paul's waist, "She'll wake up in a few minutes, you can wait until then. Go have a shower, and then come back down,"

Paul frowned a little at not being able to see his daughter right away but did as Daryl said and made his way upstairs to take off his clothes and get into some comfy pajamas.

He spent a while in the shower, thoroughly washing the sweat from his body and the grease from his long hair. Once satisfied, he got out, dressed, and left the ensuite.

As soon as he was out of their bedroom, he could hear the crying coming from Willow's nursery, and he made his way to the closed door. He pushed it open and stepped over to the crib, immediately scooping the crying baby into his arms.

"Hi, precious girl," He whispered as he began making his way downstairs, "I missed you, did you miss me?"

"She definitely did, it took me nearly an hour and a half to get her down at lunchtime because she's used to you doing it then," Daryl replied when Paul walked into the kitchen.

Paul laughed softly and accepted the bottle that Daryl had held out to him, "Cheeky baby," He said and sat down at the dining table to give Willow her bottle.

Daryl laughed softly at him, and then headed back to the stove to stir whatever it was that he was cooking up.


	24. Pizza

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paul comes home with a pizza to his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Christmas Eve! X

Paul had just finished work for the day and was headed home. He had gotten a call from Daryl a few minutes previous saying that he was too tired to cook and wanted to know if Paul would pick up a pizza for them to have, which Paul, of course, agreed to.

The pizza smelled delicious from where it sat beside him on the passenger seat, and he was tempted to reach over and pull out a slice, but he decided that he would rather wait to get home and enjoy it in Daryl's company while they watched something pointless on TV.

"I'm home," He called out as he entered their home, pizza in one hand, and his phone and wallet in the other.

"Hi," Daryl greeted him when Paul walked further into the house, and Paul immediately smiled at the sight that was in front of him.

Daryl was sat on the couch, in nothing but a pair of sweats, his bare feet resting on the coffee table. Seven-month-old Willow was in his lap, her back against his chest as she giggled and waved around a set of plastic keys in her hand. Rocky was on the armchair, and lazily wagging his tail, and Paul scratched behind his ears as he passed him.

Paul placed the pizza down on the coffee table and kissed Daryl on the mouth for a few moments, before turning to Willow and kissing both of her adorably chubby cheeks. "Hey, sweetie," He greeted her, and she giggled and attempted to eat his nose as he picked her up.

He, in turn, blew raspberries against her neck and she squealed with delight. Both Paul and Daryl laughed, and Paul held her and gave her affection for a few more moments before he placed her down on her play mat. She immediately became fascinated with all the other toys and didn't protest when Paul moved away from her to sit down beside Daryl, who had already opened the box of pizza and was working on his first slice.

"Is it good?" Paul asked, pressing himself against Daryl's side and selecting a slice for himself.

"Damn perfect," Daryl replied and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

Paul laughed softly and swallowed his mouthful before he looked up at his husband, "Looks like someone's pretty hungry," He said with a grin.  
Daryl smirked, kissed him quickly and then reached for more pizza, and Paul followed his lead.

They ate the pizza mostly in silence after that, rotating between watching their daughter play happily and watching the old re-runs of Friends that were playing on their TV.

A few minutes after they finished off the pizza, Willow began whining, so Paul stood up and made his way over to her.

"What's wrong, Willow?" He asked and scooped her into his arms, her little body resting against his chest.

She immediately settled and began chewing on her fist, and Daryl laughed softly, "I just think someone wanted attention,"

Paul laughed softly too as he made his way back over to the couch, he sat back down beside Daryl and grinned when Willow immediately began playing with his long hair.


	25. Bouncing Curls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paul and Daryl spend some time in the park with their little family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope ya'll enjoyed this little countdown! :) Merry Christmas ya'll!

Willow was all smiles and bouncing curls as she ran across the grass, her little feet and legs carrying her as fast as she could behind Rocky.

It was a Saturday morning, and Daryl and Paul had decided to go out and have a brunch of sorts in the park in town with their little family. The two of them were sat on the small picnic blanket and munching away on sandwiches as they watched their four-year-old daughter wear herself, and their dog out.

Paul had a smile on his face as he watched them, love swelling his chest for the excitable little girl. She always had so much energy, and it could make her quite a handful, but most of the time, it was more endearing than anything, except on those occasional nights that she ran around the house screaming that she didn't want to go to bed.

"How is our baby four?" Daryl asked from beside him, he was laying back and resting his weight on one elbow, using his other hand to hold a ham and cheese sandwich up to his mouth.

Paul sighed, "I have no idea, I mean, Willow is four and starting Kindergarten in a month, it has been nearly six years since we got married, and nearly twelve years since we started dating, it's crazy,"

Daryl hummed, "We're getting old," He grunted after a few moments, and looked over at Paul with a little smirk.

Paul laughed, "Thirty-seven and forty-three is not bad," He argued.

Daryl snorted, and shifted closer to him, "You keep telling yourself that, darlin'," He said and sat up properly so that he could wrap an arm around Paul's shoulders and pull him into a kiss.

Paul huffed against the man's lips but kissed him back eagerly, and he couldn't stop the little smile that twitched at his lips.

They kissed happily for several minutes but broke apart when they heard footsteps approaching them.

"Hello!" Willow greeted excitedly even though she had been with them minutes earlier, and she sat herself down on the picnic blanket. Rocky did the same and rested his head in her lap.

"Hey, baby," Daryl greeted her, and reached over to push some of her curls out of her eyes and then smooth down the longer ones that fell down her back.

Paul poured a little glass of orange juice and proceeded to hold it out for Willow to take, "You need a drink after all of that running around, monkey," He told her.

Willow smiled and accepted the juice from him, "Thank you," She said politely and brought the little plastic cup to her lips.

"You're welcome, sweetheart," Paul replied, and then re-filled both his and Daryl's cups.

He gave Daryl's purple cup to him with a kiss on his lips, and a squeeze to his hip.

* * *

Later that night, after they had had dinner, and showered and gotten themselves sorted for the night, the three of them settled into Paul and Daryl's big bed, Mulan playing on the TV in front of them.

Willow was laying in between the both of them and gripping both of their hands excitedly as she watched the movie. Rocky was even in the room, but in his little bed in the corner, as he knew that he wasn't allowed on the bed.

Paul fell asleep forty-minutes into the movie, warm and comfortable as he was surrounded by his little family. 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are loved! Xx
> 
> Tumblr - iiloulouii


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